The Desirability of Rarity

After watching visitors for the past four months flowing in and out of tourist shops, from one black pearl jeweler straight onto the next, with the singular aim of finding the perfect souvenir to show off on their return home, it has become abundantly clear that pearls are the most desirable commodity on the island.
What accounts for the strong desirability of black pearls?
The main selling point for these pearls seems to be how rare they are, and it’s this notion of rarity that directly effects the desirability of the pearl. Aside from the pearls uncommonness due to their being only found in specific areas of the South Pacific, there are various other factors that contribute to this scarcity, and these in turn make the pearl more sought after, and naturally, the more coveted, the more expensive.
To the non connoisseur the only factor that has any obvious value is the shape of the pearl. The perfect round is top of the pearl buyer’s list, as the perfect round fits the universal idea of what a pearl should look like. For most, if a pearl isn’t round it isn’t recognisable as a pearl. If the pendant around the tourists’ neck is not instantly identifiable as a valuable and rare gem then what is the point in having it?
The black pearl native to the Cook Islands suffers from this dilemma more than the better known white pearl. Outside of the South Pacific, in European markets, the black pearl is little known and therefore not an obvious example of its type. Black pearl purchasers are thus drawn towards round pearls irrespective of personal aesthetic preferences, again so that they resemble everyone’s idea of pearls as closely as possible. The positive of this is that purchasers of the pearl can boast of how rare their pearls are considering their colour and shape, making them more desirable through explanation.
The symmetrical spherical pearl is indeed a most unlikely find if searched for as a naturally occurring phenomenon, and in this respect it is understandable that such a rare find would be so highly prized. However, with today’s pearls specifically cultivated with a process that is designed to produce round pearls can we still consider them rare, and consequently worthy of the increased price tag?
In the earliest designs of pearl jewelery there are few examples of round pearls as all pearls were naturally formed, and so abstract, baroque, shapes would have been easier to distinguish as pearls than those shapes would be today. The pearls utilised then would have been what are now called Keshis. The unique selling point of the Keshi is that, though contestable, it is considered by many as a natural pearl, and naturally occurring pearls are substantially less common than cultivated pearls. With this being so shouldn’t the Keshi be more in demand as a result of it’s rare status as a natural pearl?
Arab countries have long been uncomfortable with cultured pearls, partly due to their history as the foremost suppliers of natural pearls. They instead favor ‘chance’ pearls- Keshis. Arab countries are the majority consumers and producers of keshis, with the small, unusually shaped pearls being easily recognised in those countries for what they are- rare pearls.
In a bid to raise awareness of Keshis the Dubai Multi Commodities Centre recently launched the Dubai Pearl Exchange whose aim is to promote the development of the pearl industry in the Middle East. Demand for keshis has subsequently increased as they have become acknowledged globally as distinctive pearls. As keshis gain in popularity it is possible that round pearls will alternatively fall in popularity. As the round pearl becomes negatively known for being cultured so will the keshi become sought after for being ‘natural’, and so the keshi may take the place of the round as the universally accepted shape of the pearl- at least this is one of the goals of the Dubai Pearl Exchange.
The contradiction of desirability increasing as does the rarity of the pearl is that whilst we want to own something that is rare we at the same time want people to immediately recognise what it is that we have. As is the case with round pearls now, and very possibly Keshis in the near future, we want the pearl that best represents the majority’s idea of what a pearl is. This happens to be whatever type of pearl that is most in demand, effectively making it the less rare pearl.

By Samantha Jones

Herald Issue 463 10 June
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